30

~Xander~

After the walk, we made it back to the cottage. Zareena went to the room to rest, while Aoife engaged with Zach in the kitchen. Yeah, he was excited, and so was she for the evening.

Matt and I stepped outside onto the porch, and I turned to him.

“Why did you bring her here?”

“She called your mom and found out about this trip and knew I would join you guys soon.”

“So?”

“She called me to pick her up along the way,” he replied blankly.

I knew my mom would have told her about our trip.

“I think she’s jealous of Aoife. With you changing your behavior toward her, she might have noticed.”

Yes, he was right. I could see the anger in Zareena’s eyes towards Aoife.

“Is there something going on between you and Aoife? She seems upset with you.”

Why wouldn’t I be surprised? Aoife must have told him something, or maybe she didn’t. But I knew Matt had doubts about me since the beginning, and I didn’t want to entertain any of his doubts about me.

“No, nothing is going on between us. I was jus